Ricky Martin Reveals Why He Kept His Sexuality a Secret for Decades

The 46-year-old singer covers Attitude's May issue, and in his accompanying interview, he opens up about why and how he kept his sexuality a secret for so long.

After years of scrutiny, Martin revealed on his website in March 2010 that he was a "fortunate homosexual man" who felt "very blessed to be who I am." Martin says that back in the '90s, when his career as a Latin pop star was first kicking off, he was "a closeted gay man who was making my partners hide."

"The level of injustice that we as a community were dealing with back then was heavy," Martin, who plays Antonio D'Amico in The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story, explains. "I played every role before I even started working on this project. I had relationships with other men who were in the closet and I had other relationships with men who were not in the closet but, because of me, went back into the closet."

"I submitted myself to my career completely," he continues. "I didn't open doors to new relationships, and I’m not talking about romantic relationships, I'm talking about any relationship, because I didn’t want people to know me too much. I wouldn't even sit down and have a cool relationship with amazing producers or great film directors because I was afraid that if they spent more than two hours sitting with me they would know my nature. I wasted so much energy trying to manipulate my sexuality."

Today, Martin appears to be happier than ever and enjoying life at home with his husband, Swedish artist Jwan Yosef, and his 9-year-old twins, Valentino and Matteo, born from a surrogate mother. He tells the outlet he and Yosef first met online.

"I contacted him and we talked for six months. We were just sending messages, talking about life and existential issues," Martin shares. "Nothing sexy, nothing sexual. It's not that he was sending me sexy pictures and vice versa, I swear…but when I first saw him I said, 'I am marrying this guy.' And apparently he said exactly the same thing."

"Obviously he only told me this later on, you have to keep it to yourself at first!" he adds. "But I lost my breath when I saw him. Six months build-up and it was very romantic."